To Take a Walk
by Lotus Aia
Summary: Haru takes a walk, and gets lost... what's new, right?


**The Challenge:**

Choose the fandom you want.  
Take the character or characters you like writing about most.  
Put them in or near your hometown.

Romance optional. Any genre.

Only the location has to have an important part in the story. Think of it as being almost a main character.

**Anime:** Fruits Basket (Just Haru here)

**Town set in:** Forestville, California

**Side characters:** cute fluffy aminals. And Hatori.

Author's note: Another challenge issued on Anichallenge. This one is a bit more subtle, not necessarily a funny ficlet. Of course, it is still in my style. (Do I have a style?) So, there is humor. No humor makes a dull story. Just read the first paragraph at least, and then you can go find another story to read.

To Take a Walk

"Eh!" SPLOOSH!

A barrage of curses followed the splashing figure, struggling to climb back up the bank of the steep creek. The ground beneath his feet wasn't even ground it all. Wet mossy bark, leaves, tree saplings, ferns, and a bit of dirt deep down beneath all the ground covering was what Haru was attempting to climb. Whatever he put his foot on would immediately slide down to the base of the creek again, making only large tracks in the side of the bank.

Water was already seeping in through the heavy black boots Haru was wearing, and his pants legs were getting heavier by the second. The creeping feeling of moisture soaking up into the polyester cotton material gave Haru the shivers. He gave up, realizing there was no purpose left now that his legs where completely soaked. The struggling was useless against this embankment anyway; it was just too slippery and insecure.

He looked around for a better place as to where he could climb something hard, like a fallen tree or roots perhaps. Up stream was his best bet for now, there was a fallen tree somewhere up there he knew. The only reason he knew was because he had been watching it when he'd taken a step forward into oblivion and fell straight down the hill into the cold as ice water. He should have known better. Kyo had taught him to always watch where he was walking, mainly since the cat had once scared the living daylights out of him by sticking his foot out from behind a wall and sending him down the Main House' stairway. They'd been pretty young, but Haru had remembered the incident and had watched where he was going ever since.

The creek wasn't as cold now. He'd been walking in it long enough to where he'd become numb to the cold. The water flow was only up to his calves, but his knees were already soaked from landing on them. Today was just not his day. This week wasn't his either. He was hopelessly lost in a town he'd never been in, and now he didn't even know if he was still in the same town. This was the last time he let the stupid doctor take him anywhere for a seminar. Hatori just wanted a bag slave to haul all his medical crap around, that was all. He said to Haru, just before leaving him on the sidewalk, "Go look around; it's beautiful country out here. The seminar will only be a few hours."

Haru snorted at this. 'A few hours' was just enough time to get him hopelessly and utterly lost. He'd started in the little town, glancing through a few shops that looked semi-interesting, but the town had been so boring and dull. When he saw the little trail behind two or three residential houses that had a few mountain bikers coming out of it, he figured a walk to see the nice forested area would lessen his boredom. To his amusement even, he began following two little squirrels that were jumping from tree to tree and playing with each other. Not until he got a bit cold did he notice that his feet no longer tramped on the bike worn trail, but out in a forest where two hundred foot redwood trees loomed over him and tampered with his sense of direction. He'd tried doing an about face and going straight back the way he'd came, but having zig zagged with the damn squirrels so much there was no way had had gone in a straight line.

He was just walking now, hoping that the forest wasn't too large and that he would run into some type of civilization. No such luck. All he found was a scorpion sunning himself on a tree, and a cold as ice creek that happened to be camouflaged just enough to where he couldn't see it in front of him. He'd known there was some body of flowing water somewhere, for he had heard it the whole time he was out here. Only the noise had been coming from all around, echoing off of each tree and bouncing back to him. He cursed those trees now; he was wet and cold because of them.

His eyes brightened, a ray of hope filtered through his heart. The fallen tree did indeed have roots that stuck from in the ground still. It looked like the tree had been so close to the creek that the dirt it was in had finally given way and slid down into the water. Now the creek, which was relatively consistent in a lazy arch to the right, did an abrupt U where the tree had made a sort of damn. The water had quickly forced itself around it though, causing the sharp turn in its flow.

Haru looked up at the giant roots and tree bottom, knowing he could easily climb that. He may not have been as good as Kyo at climbing, but he was sufficient enough to get out of this mess.

His leg was heavy as he lifted his left foot out of the water. Instantly a sharply cold chill ran up that leg, forcing him to stick it back in the water to stay warm. What an odd sensation. Now he didn't want to get out. He was quite content and warm with his ankles and calves in the water. He was sad for his jacket, and tired of holding it above the creek's flow, but he washed it regularly and knew that water wouldn't hurt it. Dropping his jacket behind him, he continued up the creek without a second thought about it. He was warm and comfortable now; he wanted to stay that way. Besides, maybe there were houses further up around the creek.

It felt like so long that he had been walking. He was getting tired from pushing against the current, which had begun to get stronger. By now he could hear a dull roar that sounded like it went beyond the creek. Taking a rest sounded good at the moment; he would investigate the dull roar later.

He sat down on a rock that was moderately dry and took in a deep breath. The air around him smelled like musty dirt, with green plant life mixed in. The fresh air above that smell was wonderful. He'd gotten lost many a time, but never in such beautiful places. He was enjoying himself now. He was sure he looked like he'd been mugged and thrown in a creek for dead, but, that was his own fault for not seeing the creek bank and tumbling down the steepest part there was. The bank itself had finally shallowed out and would be easy to climb to get out if he'd wanted.

"Rrrrbt. Rrrrrrbt."

Haru looked around, trying to pin point the odd guttural noise. Maybe it had been his wet boots squeaking. He stayed perfectly still and waited. No noise. He relaxed, deciding it had been his shifting.

"Rrrrrbt. Rrrrrbt."

This time he looked around quickly to find its source. As another long throaty noise started, he saw movement from a rock over to his left. It wasn't a rock though, for its throat was forming a bubble, then the bubble would shrink again as the noise died away. It was ugly, and he wasn't sure if it was a frog or a toad. They all looked alike to him anyway.

"Rrrrrbt. Rrrrrbt." Ploop!

It decided that since Haru wasn't enjoying his serenade, that he would go find someone else to croon to. Haru watched him jump off down the creek, from rock to rock until he disappeared out of sight. He wondered what had made the frog/toad leave, considering he had been perfectly still after locating it. Maybe the frog/toad had known that it'd been spotted by the large creature. Or-

"BLAAGAARRAAAAGH!"

Haru was hit hard from the back. He tumbled face first into the mud, fungus, and dirty water. His reactions acted quickly, but he had already missed the first attack. He reached back behind him, grabbing his assailant by the shoulders and hurling him down the creek into a deeper part of the waters. Haru was ready now. He stood, low in a good stance with his fists in front of him protectively. He watched the body flop around a bit, then sit up. His heart skipped a few beats.

"Oooww…" the assailant rubbed his shoulder with a pouting look on his face. "How'd you do that?" The little boy didn't look hurt, and he wasn't crying at all which relieved Haru immensely.

Haru's shoulders dropped along with his fists. He wiped his face off with the sleeve of his jacket, the dirt and slime covering the once white coat.

"I've been practicing for many many years. What are you doing out here jumping people you don't even know?" he wondered, miffed and annoyed at having been pushed in the mud. It brought back bad memories of childhood anyway.

The little boy grinned brightly and clamored to his feet. He was soaking wet and covered in dirt, but he looked right at home like that. "I thought you were someone else. That was fun. I jumped from up there." He pointed happily. Haru followed his finger up to the top of a rock above the embankment.

"You should be careful not to hurt yourself… or someone else. Do you live near by?" Haru had finally realized that he could be close to civilization again. He was glad the boy had tackled him.

But the boy looked unsure. "I'm not supposed to tell strangers where I live." He took a cautious step backwards.

Haru understood this. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to sound like a bad person. Will you tell me how to get to a town? I got lost on the nature trail a few miles back that way… and I fell in this creek and have been following it ever since." He explained. "See? I fell." He showed him his hands which contained small cuts and scratches with dirt in them.

The boy wringed his own hands together, nose crinkled in disgust. "Owy… My babysitter can help you get home! I don't know which way, but she does. She's really smart. Except in hide and seek… I was hiding in that tree and she still hasn't found me.

Haru snorted, wondering if the girl had just done that to get rid of him for a while. "Maybe you hid to far away. Anyway… can we go find her so she can show me the way to town?" he asked hopefully.

The boy looked reluctant but agreed. "Yeah, sure, I think she went over the log to this side of the bank." He turned to the opposite side he had taken his flying leap from and began climbing up the side. "Can you help me?" he was currently hanging off a stick poking out of the ground, and wasn't afraid to ask for assistance. He knew his short stature was an impediment in anything he did.

"Sure." Haru decided the boy would one day be easily kidnapped since he seemed so trusting of strangers. Nevertheless, he walked over and took his little legs, standing on his tip toes to give the kid a good boost and push him up over the top.

"HEY!"

Haru looked back just in time to roll out of the way of a hiking boot in his face. He stumbled sideways, landing in the creek again. "Wait!" he pulled himself up and out of the girl's reaches. "I was just helping him!"

"DON'T KILL HIM, HE'S COOOL!" The boy cried in over dramatic despair, a smile on his face all the same. He smiled, biting his lower lip. "That was close huh? She's really strong, too." He launched himself at the girl, who caught him, teetering backwards but staying upright. She stepped back protectively, holding the boy close.

"Fox, what have I told you about strangers. What did I say you were supposed to do?" she hissed to him as she kept a wary eye on Haru.

Haru unconsciously attempted to clean himself off as he stared at the girl. "Listen… he thought I was you and tackled me… I'm just lost… I strayed off the nature trail and got lost about two hours ago… He said he'd take me to you so you could help me… I was just helping him get out of the creek." He pleaded her with the truth, hoping she would believe him.

She snorted, a wry smile coming across her full lips. "Normally I'd leave… but you look like you've been through hell. D'jyou fall or something?" she put Fox down on the ground who ran over and grabbed Haru's wrist, showing her the hand he had seen earlier.

"He fell down the side!" He declared, thrusting Haru's hand at her. "See?"

"I see that Fox, come here." She ordered softly. "You need to be more careful, okay? And I don't know how you got him mixed up with me, you dope. He's got white hair and a white jacket on." She smiled teasingly to the little boy. He knew he could never win these arguments and only stuck his tongue out at her. She returned the act.

"Can we go eat now? I'm cold." Fox looked up to Haru as he spoke, even though he was talking to the girl.

She snorted, "Maybe that's because you're soaking wet." She helped.

"HE THREW ME IN THE WATER!" Fox pointed accusingly at Haru, who squirmed at the feeling of wanting to run away to avoid being blamed. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, but eased when she smiled.

"You probably deserved it, Terd. Come here." She ordered, opening her arms. He ran at her eagerly, throwing himself at her as hard as he could. She grabbed his waist and gave one good heave, throwing him up over the side of the bank where he scrambled into a tree and began climbing. She looked across and over to Haru. "I'm sorry I tried to kick you, then. I thought you were trying to grab him." She explained, rubbing her shoulder where there was mud on it. "He's been a monkey today; I can't keep him in my sights."

"He's very hyper." Haru agreed, attempting to regain his mysterious air. He was too tired though. He just wanted to get back to the car where he could then fling mud and dirt all over the seats in order to pay Hatori back for dragging him on this trip. "I'm sorry, too. I knew I should have been more careful around a little boy. I didn't want him to get in trouble. He was cautious about me after he realized I wasn't you. I just told him how I was lost and he laughed with me, so…he thought I was safe." He shrugged and looked up at the tree where he was yelling for attention.

The babysitter sighed heartily. "Ey, ey, ey… That kid is going to kill me by the age of twenty. Come on, you look like you've been beat up a bit. I'll give you some lunch and some clean clothes if you want." She took a running start and got up the hill easily, watching as Haru did the same.

Fox took his chance, detaching from his tree and giving a hearty yell of, "GERONIMOOOO!"

She caught him at the last second, and then dropped him the rest of the way. "You're going to break your neck, Fox. Go get your toys." She gave him a soft boot in the behind. He took that queue and shot off in search for his abandoned trinkets.

"I don't need anything, thank you. I got myself lost, it's my fault. I just need directions is all. I just want to get to the nearest town." He explained, trying to brush off the mud and slime from his jacket once again.

She gave a chuckle, putting her hands on her hips. "You're in town. And the town town part is as scummy as it gets unfortunately. River rats, drifters, drunks, drug addicts. That's the real town. This is actually my backyard. I don't go into town much. Fox's parents work in San Fran and they drop him off here every day. Anyway… I'll take you where you need to go after lunch. Where did you start out at?"

"A large medical building. It didn't really look like a hospital, but, there's a seminar going on in there right now. The one I came with is in there. He told me to take a walk." He explained.

She laughed at this. "And walk you did. Oh brother… You're in a completely different town now." She continued laughing as she turned around and began walking slowly, waiting for Haru to follow her. "You're sense of direction is worse than mine. – Fox!" she yelled, watching as he was going in the wrong direction to get to them. "And his."

"I can't find the –the one with the big wheels." He looked up to her distressed, rubbing at his wet shirt which was starting to harden with encrusted mud.

"You launched it into the river. With your luck it's in the ocean by now." She gave him a soft push and took a few of the toys from his full arms. "What do you want for lunch?" she asked, beginning to walk back.

Haru suddenly remember the dull roar that had been going on. They had been speaking over the noise, but now that it was silent except for Fox's giggles, Haru noticed it again. He looked up and around, glancing at head of the river. "A waterfall." He blurted thoughtfully

The two looked back at him, laughing. "Just saw it, huh? That's why we wanted this place. It's beautiful land. I love waterfalls. It's green our here in the wetter seasons, like a jungle. Fox learned the hard way why we shouldn't try and climb the water fall." She looked down to him with a snort.

"They're strong." He noted absently, looking up to the great roaring water shooting out from the above land. "I think the frog died." He looked up to his caretaker.

"Frogs are smarter than humans in the water, he was fine, Fox, he didn't die." She assured him. He mostly ignored her though, having seen a white mushroom growing from the base of the tree.

Haru chuckled, walking up beside her again, "He's easily distracted."

"Yes, it's a good thing really. – Ow, Fox!" she caught herself on a tree as she reeled to the left from having her knees tackled. He giggled manically and grabbed her hand roughly, pulling her over to see the mushroom, the getting bored of that. He skipped beside her as she headed back in the direction of home, forgetting about the mushroom in which he had impaled with a stick.

Haru followed a bit behind them, observing them. Normal people. He wasn't really used to normal people. He was used to traditions, strict rules, the Sohma family. That's what he was used to. They… were carefree. The little boy was a bit hyper active, but the girl didn't seem to mind at all. She didn't get angry at him for being annoying; she just ignored him in a sense. Maybe having gotten lost was a good thing. He was much more relaxed now. Having lunch with them wouldn't hurt.

Haru waved to the girl as she pulled out of the parking lot, her sporty red jeep attempting a gleam in the sun, but it was too covered in mud and dirt to sparkle a whole lot. Fox stood up in the back seat, sticking his hand out to wave to Haru between the roll cage bars. He was promptly sat down though as her had shot out and pull him back to the seat. He grinned none the less and continued waving through the window. Haru waved until they were out of sight, and then turned to face the medical building. It was indeed a hospital, but he still didn't see a resemblance to the many other hospitals he'd been dragged to with Hatori. With a shrug he walked in, earning an odd look from the receptionist. He was still dressed in mud, but had thankfully dried out by now. He sat down after assuring her that he needed no assistance.

Hatori emerged in the crowd of doctors and physicians finally, not necessarily expecting to see Haru, and not expecting to be grabbed as he walked by the waiting room. Haru had snagged his jacket corner, making Hatori almost trip. He glared down at the white haired teenager, but slowly the look evaporated as he took in Haru fully.

"What happened to you?" he asked, none to compassionate really.

Haru didn't care, he was used to that. "I took a walk." He growled, standing up and following Hatori back out to the parking lot.

"You're not getting in my car like that." Hatori stated, looking over Haru again to see how bad of damage he would cause to the grey leather interior.

Haru's eyes flashed up to him with daggers, "Gonna make me walk are you?"

Hatori just smiled slightly, half his mouth going up in a smirk more of. "Maybe. Looks like you enjoyed your walk?"

"Why would you say I enjoyed it? I fell in a river." Haru stared at him flatly, eyes cross.

Hatori shrugged again, opening the trunk of his car. "Well, you're not black Haru, which means something must have been good about it." He grabbed a garish beach towel out of the back, handing it to the brown Haru, still chuckling at the once white clothing and hair.

Haru thought about what he said, having to agree with him, but he'd never admit that. "I just kept myself in control was all." He brushed himself off as best he could for the hundredth time, then put the towel on the seat before flopping into the car.

"Uh-huh. Control… right." Hatori was obviously unbelieving of the statement, but didn't argue about it. He turned the car on and backed out of the parking place, silence falling over them.

They started back through town; the two hour drive back to the air port in San Francisco would be long and boring, and the hotel room stank of old cigarettes and stained smoke. At least the seminar tomorrow would be in town, and it would be easier to find his way around. He had more luck with cities than he did the wilderness.

Haru looked up as a flash of red caught his eye. His heart gave a gentle excited thump as he saw the two one last time. The girl was attempted to balance an ice cream in one hand and keep Fox from running into the street with the other. The boy had a scoop the size of his head, but as he'd demonstrated earlier, he could eat a lot. Haru wanted to wave vigorously, but knew they wouldn't see him. He turned around to look out the back window, smiling as the girl finally changed tactics and gave him a soft kick in the butt, most likely threatening to leave without him as she walked towards the jeep. He chased after her, running into her back as hard as he could without dropping his ice cream. She was prepared and only braced herself, opening the door and helping the boy in.

They were realistic, normal. Haru wanted to go back and stay, and just watch them interact, speak, play, laugh. Oh for the life of a normal person. He needed to get out more. Maybe getting lost in the wilderness would turn out that good every time. He smiled to himself, knowing that this time was only a lucky thing. He always got lost; it only turned out well this time. Maybe it was the trees, maybe the cold wet river, or maybe some animal spirit having pity on him for once.

He shrugged, leaning back and closing his eyes. He decided silently that when he got home, he was going to take a walk in the forest at the Sohma residence. It was better than nothing. Besides, if he got lost in the woods again, maybe he could take a break from the Sohma's way of life.


End file.
